Acquisition
by LR Bowen
Summary: A parody of the Starfleet-Maquis alliance, done in modern romance novel style. Very silly!


Acquisition by L.R. Bowen

Star Trek: Voyager is copyright by Paramount Pictures, Inc. No infringement is intended. Story is copyright by L.R. Bowen, LRBowen@aol.com. Do not sell or print for sale without the express written permission of the author, and do not circulate without the author's name and this disclaimer attached. Permission is granted to circulate free of charge in electronic form. Please do not archive without contacting the author.

This is a very silly story. :) Inspired by one of Jaeti's, "Passion's Starry Fire", a romance-novel parody of the Starfleet-Maquis alliance. I'm afraid I don't know where that story is any more...

Acquisition  
1995

by L.R. Bowen

"So, you've made a leveraged buyout and pulled a hostile takeover on me, Ms Janeway?" The CEO of Maquis, Ltd. yanked his Perry Ellis tie askew and paced to the window of his new owner's palatial corner office. Thirty stories below, the scurrying ants of downtown traffic were treated to a glare from his fiery brown eyes.

Kathryn Janeway shifted in her chair, the Italian leather upholstery yielding under her trim thighs, then leaned forward and laced her fingers over the desk blotter, her perfectly coiffed hair and Cartier earrings reflecting in the polished rosewood expanse. "Mr. Chakotay, Starfleet International has done you a favor. Kazon Enterprises is cutting deeply into our market, but together we have a fighting chance. You were able to torpedo their local branch with that kamikaze IPO, but the fallout destroyed your bottom line. You lost your office lease; Maquis Ltd. is out on the street. If we hadn't bailed you out at the last minute, you'd have had to liquidate your assets and lay off all your people. I know they've been with you for years and are loyal in a way seldom seen in this era of downsizing."

"Am I supposed to believe they'll find places in this organization?" Chakotay whirled and strode back to the desk, his big frame impressive in Ralph Lauren charcoal pinstripes. "I've trained them from the beginnings of their careers. I'm an entrepreneur--some would even say a rebel--and I do things my own way."

"Given time, we'll fit all of them in." Janeway picked up the pen from her Ben Cross desk set and tapped it a little nervously with her L'Oreal-enameled nails. "Even your wild Ms Torres has talent we can use--she engineered the Dreadnought deal like a real pro."

Chakotay snorted loudly. "I'll believe that the same day I fly to the moon. Starfleet International is hidebound and traditional, and wants the whole damn market to itself. I wonder if one planet's enough for you! Before you know it, you'll be telling little green men how to do things according to your prime company directive!"

Janeway rose and came around the desk as he stamped off to the window again with fists jammed in his pockets, the sound of his Bruno Magli loafers muffled on her antique Aubusson. "You had a distinguished career with us before you resigned, Mr. Chakotay. Are you sure you've lost all attachment to our principles?"

"I bailed as soon as I had enough in investments to bankroll ML. SI's cross-marketing agreement with Cardassian Partners left a very bad taste. I swore then I'd always be my own boss, and I don't care if I have to start over again in a two-room office with one fax line and a rebuilt Mac Classic. My people will follow me." He turned and shot another smouldering look at her.

"It's a big, chilly universe out there." Janeway sat on the edge of the desk, her short-skirted Donna Karan suit setting off her slim waist and long legs. "There's a vacuum in venture capital, and with your record, backers could be light-years apart." She leaned forward, her Lancome-lipsticked smile as enticing as she could make it. "I'm prepared to offer you an executive vice-presidency, reporting directly to me, and some very attractive stock options. Since George Cavit's untimely death in the crash of the company Learjet, there's been a void in the hierarchy. You could step right in."

"Wouldn't your securities chief have something to say about that? It's common knowledge you've been grooming him for the front office. And maybe to fill more than a management void." Chakotay stalked towards her and dropped his hands on the desk, one on each side of her hips. She instinctively crossed her knees against him, the slick nylon of her Calvin Klein hose whispering in the sudden silence. The fire in his eyes ignited something in her; his handsome face was so close to hers that she caught the scent of Obsession aftershave. Involuntarily she dropped her eyes to his firm, sensual lips, and his moody scowl suddenly gave way to a dazzling grin. _Stop that,_she told herself. _If you let your mind run on about that Soloflex-toned body, that perfect natural tan, that Sassoon haircut, you'll stop thinking like the U.S. division head of a huge multinational firm--and start thinking like a woman._

But it was too late. Chakotay was too quick for her, and had caught the meaning of her glance the moment before she had herself. When she met his eyes again, mere inches from hers, they were warmer than a Club Med sunrise. "Tuvok's a team player," she said hastily. "He'll understand that this merger depends on the goodwill of everyone involved--"

"I'm not a team player," said Chakotay, casting a look over her that had her flushing to the Hermes scarf tucked into her neckline. "I'm a lone wolf. But the corporate wilderness is no place to be lonely." He raised his left hand to touch her hair, and the gold Rolex on his wrist flashed in the light from the window. "All right, I'll come on board. But I've got one condition."

"Yes," Janeway breathed, and it was an answer as well as a question.

"Make those options for preferred stock, and vest them all immediately....and I'm yours." He winked at her, picked up his Louis Vuitton attache case, and blew past the reception desk before she could respond.

"Damn," she said to herself. "He didn't even ask about the dental plan!"

END


End file.
